Joe Pavelski Named New Sharks Captain

The name of the San Jose Sharks captain for the 2015-16 season is once again Joe.

The team announced Joe Pavelski as the team’s captain on Monday, crowning Logan Couture and former captain Joe Thornton as alternate captains.

The Sharks captaincy was a point of contention when prior to last season the team stripped Thornton of his captaincy and Patrick Marleau of his alternate captain title. Former coach Todd McLellan and GM Doug Wilson did not name a new captain last year and the team played under a rotating cast of alternate captains that included Thornton, Pavelski, Couture and Marleau.

The 2003 7th round draft pick has spent his entire 10-year career with the Sharks, accumulating 643 games to date. At 31, he surpassed the 40-goal mark for the first time at age 29, hitting 37 goals last season, his second highest total to date. Pavelski plays like a younger man and seems to be hitting his peak at a point when many players of his ilk are starting to recede into the twilight like John Wayne at the end of a movie.

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